War Clouds a GardenOn the morning of February 28, the Associated Press published a photograph of a grey-haired woman ...

War Clouds a GardenOn the morning of February 28, the Associated Press published a photograph of a grey-haired woman in pajamas standing on a flat roof as bombs fell on her city. Beside her was a well-tended roof garden. Rose bushes and tulips bloomed. Her face suggested horror. It was early spring in Tehran.One of the reasons we build gardens is to surround ourselves with peace and a sense of security. The ancient Persians thought that a walled garden was an imitation of paradise. Yet here was a Persian garden that, in a moment, could be destroyed by a bomb.People have stood in their gardens and watched in horror from the time Caligula’s legions wielded sabers.In our age, there are people who believe in bombs and others who believe in gardens. Those who believe in bombs have no hope. Their only goal is to destroy, in the belief that whoever drops the most bombs gets whatever they want.Those who plant gardens see hope in the future.Between bombs and blooms, I place my faith in the…